


not before anymore

by Splintered_Star



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Post TLJ
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-14 22:49:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21023522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Splintered_Star/pseuds/Splintered_Star
Summary: After Crait, Poe apologizes to Rose.





	not before anymore

Rose is deep into a salvaged ship when Poe knocks on the side of the chassis to get her attention. She pulls herself out, wipes grease off of her hands, and looks up at him.

  
He looks - well, nervous. She's never seen him look nervous before. She doesn't think so, anyway. She never had much to do with him before - well, before. She doesn't know how to deal with him now, in the after. She hasn't been avoiding him, as such.

  
"Hey, Rose? Can we talk?"

  
"Sure." Rose stands, brushing dirt off of her pants. "What's up?"

  
Poe gestures for her to follow, and she does. He's easy to follow, she thinks, and she's only a little bit bitter about that.

  
When they're close to the edge of the shipyard, Poe stops and faces her. He pushes his hair away from his face - he's fidgeting. Wow, he really is nervous. Then he takes a deep breath, lets it out, and he's serious.

  
"Rose, I -" Still nervous, though. Rose is suddenly, viscerally certain that something has gone wrong, that Finn was hurt on a mission, or - "I need to apologize."

  
She blinks at him, confused. That doesn't sound like he's about to tell her -

  
"Look, I." He tugs on his hair again. "During the evac I ignored the order to withdrawal, and then I sent you and Finn on some wild bantha chase." He meets her eyes, serious and intent, and he looks - a lot older, now, than he does in the recruitment posters. "I fucked up, and I got your sister killed."

  
Rose stares at him. Distantly, she known that if Poe had given the withdrawal order, Paige might have been able to evac - but she had buried it, reasoned that the Order would have tried to attack anyway, Paige might have -

  
-Poe is standing in front of her, quiet, and she doesn't know what he's waiting for. Did he come here for forgiveness? For her to tell him it wasn't his fault? Before, she would have said it, done anything to appease the person in front of her, but -

  
The place where her necklace is supposed to hang aches, sometimes. She feels the lack of weight like a lack of air.

  
Rose closes her eyes, and says: "She didn't do it for you."

  
She lets out a breath and opens her eyes. Poe is still there, and before he can open his mouth -

  
"She wanted to give the Resistance the best chance of surviving." She feels removed, something trembling in the bottom of her throat almost like anger, but not quite. "If you want to - honor her, or whatever, then try to keep us alive."

  
Poe nods. He doesn't look offended. "Already planning on it." He smirks, a little, and even if he doesn't look like the posters he looks better, now. "And if I do something stupid, throw a wrench at me."

  
Rose smirks back, feeling braver than before. "Already planning on it."

  
Poe laughs, giving her a thumbs up. She thinks she might be able to work with him - as an equal, even.

  
Things will never be the way they were before, but Rose is still here, and that's enough, she thinks. It will be.

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written rose pov before. I should do it more often.


End file.
